ExpressTruckTax Blog

Monday, April 30, 2018

Yup, that’s right today, April 30th is the 1st quarter IFTA deadline. You will need to complete your IFTA return by midnight or you will have some major penalties to face. If this deadline snuck up on you and you’re wondering how you’ll ever make the deadline, don’t worry! We have your IFTA fuel tax solution.

Check out our awesome sister product, ExpressIFTA to easily handle all of your IFTA reporting needs online. You can quickly generate your IFTA report and use it to complete your return. Plus, we’re here to go over all the IFTA basics so you’ll be up to speed.

Today is the 1st Quarter IFTA Deadline

What is IFTA?

If you are asking yourself “What is IFTA?” then you are in worse shape than I expected. But don’t worry I got you. The International Fuel Tax Agreement, or IFTA, quarterly fuel tax report allows you to travel in all participating member jurisdictions with a single fuel tax license. To operate in two or more jurisdictions, you are required to have an IFTA sticker and license.

You receive your IFTA stickers and license through you base jurisdiction which is your home state or where your vehicle is registered. Your IFTA license needs to be renewed annually in December. When you hold an IFTA license, you are required to file an IFTA quarterly fuel tax report that shows and calculated how much fuel tax you owe (or are credited) to remain compliant.

In short, IFTA is used to report and determine the net tax refund that’s due and to redistribute taxes from collecting states to due states. This agreement is between the lower 48 United States and 10 Canadian provinces, this regulation was put into place to simplify fuel reporting by those who use qualified motor vehicles.Your vehicle qualifies for IFTA reporting if:

Has two axles and a gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,00 pounds

Has two axles and a registered gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

Has three or more axles regardless of weight

Or has a combined weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

To complete your IFTA report you need to provide the following information:

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

If you are a new owner-operator, we welcome you to the wonderful world of IFTA. You have probably heard through the grapevine that IFTA filing is...well... difficult and usually involves some expressive expletives. But it's really not that bad when you know where to go. Here is what you need to know about IFTA reporting 2018.

What You Need To Know About IFTA Reporting 2018

Before we dive into the filing your IFTA reporting, let’s go over some of the basics.

IFTA Fuel Tax Basics

The International Fuel Tax Agreement, or IFTA, quarterly fuel tax report allows you to travel in all participating member jurisdictions with a single fuel tax license. To operate in two or more member jurisdictions, you are required to have an IFTA sticker and license.

You receive your IFTA license through your base jurisdiction and you are given an IFTA sticker to put on your truck. Your IFTA license needs to be renewed annually in December. When you hold an IFTA license, you are required to file an IFTA quarterly fuel tax report that calculates how much fuel tax you owe (or are credited) to remain compliant. Your vehicle qualifies for IFTA reporting if it:

Has two axles and a gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,00 pounds

Has two axles and a registered gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

Has three or more axles regardless of weight

Or has a combined weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

Filing Your IFTA Fuel Tax Form

Your first quarter IFTA return is due in six days! Thankfully ExpressTruckTax has a sister product named ExpressIFTA that makes IFTA reporting incredibly easy online. You can track all of the totals you need to complete your return in one convenient location!

Plus, you can import all of your information at once with the bulk upload feature Also, you can import all of your mileage information directly from your GPS.

Best of all your totals will be automatically calculated in an IFTA quarterly fuel tax report that can be downloaded, printed, emailed, and used to complete your IFTA return instantly. It’s the fastest and most hassle-free way to handle IFTA.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Wait, what?! It’s IFTA time again already? How in the world is the January 31 4th quarter IFTA deadline here already? That means you need to complete your IFTA return by midnight or you will have some major penalties to face. If this deadline suck up on you and you’re wondering how you’ll ever make the deadline, don’t worry! We have your IFTA solution.

Check our awesome sister, ExpressIFTA to easily handle all of your IFTA reporting needs online. You can quickly generate your IFTA report and use it to complete your return. Plus, we’re here to go over all the IFTA basics so you’ll be up to speed.

It's Officially The 4th Quarter IFTA Deadline Day

We will start with a little IFTA history. IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement that was put in place by the lower 48 United States and 10 Canadian provinces to simplify fuel reporting by those who use qualified motor vehicles between two or more jurisdictions.

Before IFTA was put into place fuel reporting was a complicated mess. Each state had their own rules and regulations to comply with, now they all adhere to the quarterly IFTA return. IFTA is used to report and determine the net tax refund that’s due and to redistribute taxes from collecting states to due states.

Your vehicle qualifies for IFTA if it travels between two or more jurisdictions and:

Has two axles and a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or more

Has two axles and a registered gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or more

Has three or more axles regardless of weight and/or

Is used in combination when the combination exceeds 26,000 pounds or more in gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight.

You actually have to apply for your IFTA license at first, then keep it in your cab at all times. Also, to comply with IFTA you will receive two IFTA decals that need to be placed on your driver door and file your IFTA returns four times a year.

In order to complete your IFTA return you need to provide the following information:

The total miles traveled per jurisdiction

The total gallons of fuel consumed per jurisdiction

The total tax paid gallons of fuel purchased per jurisdiction, and

The current tax rate per jurisdiction

Preparing For IFTA With ExpressIFTA

ExprssIFTA makes it easy to import all of your IFTA information online in one convenient location. Everything you need will be easy to access in your free account. Plus, ExpressIFTA will use your IFTA records to automatically calculate all of your IFTA totals with 100% accuracy.

Your IFTA totals will be generated in an easy-to-read quarterly IFTA report that contains everything you need to instantly complete your return. It can be downloaded, printed, and emailed to go wherever it needs to!

When it comes to importing your IFTA information you can go at your own pace. For example, you can keep detailed information per trip with the trip sheet entries or add all your information for the month with the quick sheet entries feature.

Or you can speed things up with the bulk upload feature, which allows you to upload all of your information at once. You can also import your mileage records directly from your GPS and ExpressIFTA even accepts ELD data.

There’s no easier way to prepare for IFTA. Don’t waste time working on complicated calculations when ExpressIFTA will instantly handle them all on your behalf. Time is running out, get started now to easily file IFTA before the deadline.

If you need any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact the live US-based ExpressTruckTax support team.

Friday, December 29, 2017

Congratulations on another year behind the wheel. 2017 has been a crazy year for truckers with the ELD mandate. Plus, when hurricane Harvey and Irma struck truckers were greatly needed to provide relief for those affected by the storms.

There’s no telling what 2018 will have in store for you as you keep on truckin’. We’re sure you’re taking the time to think of the perfect resolution to start the year fresh. One way to do that involves getting started on the 4th quarter IFTA deadline that’s coming up on January 31.

Prepare For The 4th Quarter IFTA Deadline

Your 4th quarter IFTA return is due in about a month so we’re here to help you prepare for the deadline. If you need a little refreshing, IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement put in place by the 48 contiguous United States and 10 Canadian provinces.

It was created in order to simplify the reporting of fuel used by qualifying motor vehicles that travel between at least two or more jurisdictions. The collected taxes are redistributed among the jurisdictions.

Your vehicle qualifies for IFTA reporting if it:

Has two axles and a gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

Has two axles and a registered gross weight exceeding 26,000 pounds

Has three or more axles regardless of weight

Or has a combination weight exceeding 26,000 pounds.

In order to comply with IFTA, you will apply for your IFTA license with your base jurisdiction or home state and keep it in your cab at all times. You will also receive two IFTA decals that you will need to keep on your driver’s side door at all times. Plus, you will need to complete your IFTA return four times a year.

You will need to provide the following information to complete your IFTA return:

Total miles traveled per jurisdiction

Total gallons of fuel consumed per jurisdiction

Total tax paid gallons of fuel purchased per jurisdiction

And the current tax rate per jurisdiction.

If you fail to complete your IFTA return you will have some penalties to face and they aren’t cheap. If you fail to file by the deadline you will face a penalty of $50 or 10% of the total amount due, depending on which amount is higher.

Then you will face a monthly fee of .4167% of the tax due until you fully pay the amount you owe. States also reserve the right to impose their own penalties and revoke your IFTA license, which would park you!

Check out ExpressIFTA

But you don’t have to worry. ExpressTruckTax has a sister named ExpressIFTA that makes IFTA reporting incredibly easy online. You can track all of the totals you need to complete your return in one convenient location!

Plus, you can import all of your information all at once with the bulk upload feature and import all of your information at once. Also, you can import all of your mileage information directly from your GPS.

Best of all, all of your totals will be automatically calculated in a quarterly IFTA report that can be downloaded, printed, emailed, and used to instantly complete your IFTA return! It’s the fastest and most hassle-free way to handle IFTA.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Hey trucking nation, we are here with an important reminder! Your 3rd quarter IFTA return is due today, October 31st, by midnight. If you fail to file by the deadline then you will have some expensive IFTA penalties to deal with.

However, you don’t need to scramble around looking for a way to generate your IFTA report or spend hours working on your calculations, because ExpressIFTA is here to help. ExpressIFTA is a proud sister product of ExpressTruckTax and offers the market-leading IFTA reporting solution online to take the hassle out of generating your quarterly report. Check out how easy it is!

IFTA Reporting With ExpressIFTA

All you have to do is log in to ExpressIFTA with your ExpressTruckTax account for free. If you don’t have an ExpressTruckTax account then you can create your free ExpressIFTA account with your email address and personal password.

Next you will enter your business information, including the name, address, and EIN (Employer Identification Number). You will also enter your base jurisdiction, which is the state where your vehicle is registered and your vehicle information, including the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).

After that you will enter your fuel and mileage records at your own pace for the current quarter. You can enter your totals per trip to keep extremely detailed information or enter your information per trip with the quick entry feature.

Or you can even upload all your information at once with an Excel or CSV file by using the bulk upload feature. You can even upload all of your distance records directly from your GPS.

Best of all, ExpressIFTA allows you to report your totals according to your personal preferences. For example, you can enter your distance information by miles traveled or odometer readings.

Also, you don’t have to worry about handling any complicated calculations yourself, because ExpressIFTA automatically does all of it for you. All of your IFTA totals will be calculated with 100% accuracy based on the information you enter. This way you will always know how much fuel tax you owe, and you’ll never over or underpay the amount.

When you’re done entering all of your information for the quarter ExpressIFTA an internal audit check will be performed to catch any basic errors. For example, if you stated that you traveled between two nonadjacent states.

Then you can pay and generate your quarterly IFTA report. This report is easy to read and will clearly display all of your IFTA calculations. You can print it, email it, and use it to instantly complete your return.

Also, because ExpressIFTA knows that you need to store your IFTA information for four years for auditing purposes, all of your information will be stored in your account per quarter. It can be accessed at any time.

Contact A Truck Tax Expert

If you need any assistance the outstanding, US-based ExpressTruckTax support team is here to help. Give us a call Monday - Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM EST at 704.234.6005. You can also reach us via live chat and take advantage of our 24/7 email support at support@ExpressTruckTax.com.